Student Loan Delinquency Rate Is Up

From The LA Times:

A new report raises even more alarms: It's likely that as many as 1 in 4 borrowers was carrying a past-due student loan balance in the third quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday. 

Indeed, the New York Fed put the latest outstanding student loan balance at $870 billion. That's more than the total credit card debt, $693 billion, and car loan debt, $730 billion.

The average balance per borrower: $23,300.

Montana Tech doesn't have to deal with this issue very often.  Even though 55% of our students take out loans to pay for their education, the default rate is around 2-3%. This is not a positive trend for the nation though, through the mortgage crisis we have seen what can happen if too many people have bad debts they cannot pay back. Let's hope this isn't the next bubble about to burst that will take the whole economy down with it!

MTech Tube - Tech Day at Discovery Ski Hill

Students and faculty of Montana Tech enjoy a day of winter sports at Discovery Ski Hill. Interview with Chris Van Nuland, Director of Student Activities. Event sponsored by the Montana Tech Alumni Association. 


Filmed January 29, 2012 Shot, edited and produced by Aaron Briggs.
Additional filming by Frankie Schwartz.
Music : Kevin MacLeod "Got Funk"

MTech Tube - Details of Unauthorized Grade Changes at Montana Tech

Chancellor Donald Blackketter and Vice Chancellor Doug Abbott discuss the unauthorized grade changes at Montana Tech. Filmed January 26th, 2012, edited for time. Shot, edited and produced by Aaron Briggs.

Welcome Back!

Summer is winding down, and most of us are settling into school for the semester. Lots of things are changing here on campus and the staff here at The Technocrat plan to keep you informed! It is my first year as editor, and I am hoping that you will all enjoy the changes coming to the paper. If you have any suggestions be sure to send me a message.

Student Profile: 20 (or so) Questions with Ruthie Harrison

Aaron Briggs
This is a new feature that I have started for the website, as a way to get to know your fellow classmates. If anyone would like to participate and answer these  20 questions, send an email to avbriggs@mtech.edu.  For this first installment, Ruthie was nice enough to be my guinea pig and answer some probing questions!

1. Whats sports, clubs, or associations are you affiliated with? (Does not have to be school related)
 I'm not in any sports, but I do referee High School volleyball and basketball so I'm a member of MOA, the Montana Officials Association. On campus I'm in Chi Alpha, Society of Women Engineers, and Overflow.


2. What is your favorite academic subject?
It's hard to pick a favorite subject, but it's probably been Physics so far. Math comes in a close second because I really like my teacher in Linear Algebra, Chip Todd.

Courthouse Turns 100

Aaron Briggs

Photo: Aaron Briggs

          Speeding tickets are rarely a good thing, and I was upset when I received my first infraction in my new home of Butte, Montana. This required a trip to the courthouse, which I was dreading. The courthouses in New England can be a depressing affair with crying babies, shady characters and rude security. When I pulled up to the Butte-Silver Bow County Courthouse, I had a sneaking suspicion this place might be different. I don't think I had ever seen a door made entirely of copper before. So far, so good. I took a step inside.

National Coming Out Day

Aaron Briggs

    Homosexual. Not a word often uttered with positive connotations around these parts, even though the gay and lesbian community makes up roughly 10% of the population.

Letter From Chancellor Gilmore

The students of Montana Tech recently received this letter from Chancellor Gilmore, addressing the events that transpired at the Montana Tech vs. Carroll football game. Our editor gives her thoughts at the Daily Dig.

Do You Trust The Mainstream Media?

Aaron Briggs 

The mainstream media - CNN, NBC, ABC, FOX and others have been struggling to maintain their reputations amidst the economic turmoil we have been experiencing of late. I personally never paid much attention to the mainstream media until the presidential campaigns of 2008. During an election season when the stakes are high, the media bias really comes out. I was following the campaign of Ron Paul and I was appalled by the treatment he received from the media. This is fact was made glaringly obvious during the "debates" each of the networks had a chance host. They would give their favored candidates softball questions and let them talk longer. As an observer I was absolutely disgusted. It seems that many Americans are starting to agree with me.

Photos From The Economic Summit

I had a few photos from the event, I figured I would post them since I wasn't going to do anything else interesting with them. It was a cool event for the time I was there. It's not everyday you get to listen to Warren Buffet and Steve Ballmer talk about Butte and Montana. Check out the Flickr slidehow after the jump.

Matt Komac: Offensive Player of the Week

http://www.godiggers.com/football.html

Found this bit of news at the GoDiggers website, here is the full article from the Frontier Conference website.

Offensive Player of the Week: Matt Komac, Montana Tech, 6-foot-4, 217 lbs, senior, quarterback from Helena, Mont. In Montana Tech's 38-24 win over Rocky Mountain College, Komac was 22 of 24 passing for 322 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 31 yards on eight carries. Other players nominated: Nathan Barnett of Rocky Mountain, Derek Lear of Montana State-Northern, Corey Peterson of Carroll College and Kevin Sampson of Eastern Oregon.

Meth Ads Everywhere, Are They Working?

Aaron Briggs
    Anti-meth ads are in a class unto themselves. Now, if you are like me, you may have been casually minding your own business, watching some network television or reading some tame magazine or even driving past a billboard, when you stumble upon a shocking image like the one below. It forces you to think about things that most of us would prefer not to think about. Abused teens, rape, and drug abuse are not my idea of stimulating breakfast conversation.

Stephen Colbert gives statement to Congress

Aaron Briggs

    
    It's not everyday that comedians get to address politicians directly, so this is a treat. Colbert has a history of telling it like it is, like in 2006 when he roasted George Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner. It is kind of odd how he ended up at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security. Maybe Washington is trying to get a feel for Mr. Colbert, who will be holding a march/rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial on October 30th called "The March To Keep Fear Alive". Which is of course being held at the same time as "The Rally To Restore Sanity", hosted by his arch nemesis, Jon Stewart.

Aaron Briggs - Editor

Aaron Briggs is a junior in the Technical Communications department at Montana Tech. He designed the current iteration of this web site and does most of the posting. He plans to pursue a career in journalism, possibly with a concentration on film-making. 


Read all stories written by Aaron

Outlook on Student Debt

Aaron Briggs

  The United States have managed to reach another shocking economic milestone this year. The total amount of student debt has surpassed the total amount of credit card debt for Americans. Credit card debt dropped from $975 billion to $826 billion, meanwhile student debt has risen steadily to $829 billion.

Iraq War: Mission Accomplished?

Aaron Briggs

  President Obama appeared to put a lot of minds to rest last week when the administration announced the end of combat operations in Iraq. Controversy has been stirring about exactly what the President meant when he said that the troops had reached the “end of combat operations”.